"He's got a long, long way to go before he gets anywhere near as good as Sir Bobby Robson. He's a young manager trying to stamp his mark on things, but he's making some big mistakes.

"He's targeted the easy players, the ones who are leaving anyway, trying to show he's the boss. I was fined for not going to a weights session. Everyone else at the club thought it was ridiculous, but he's trying to be tough.

"He comes out in the media and hammers players and he hasn't said a word to them.

"He's never said anything like that to his (Wickham's) face. He's 19 and the manager is battering him in the media."

Bramble scored an own goal for Manchester United in his final Black Cats game

Bramble did however add Di Canio was a "good coach on the training pitch" and parised the former Swindon boss' meticulousness but conceded "his man-management skills need a lot of work".

The former Newcastle defender was also adamant Di Canio's fascist past was not an issue in the dressing room.

"Obviously, we were aware of the fascism thing, and the pictures of him doing the salute in Italy, but I've always refused to prejudge anyone and he never gave any indication he held those sorts of views," Bramble stated.